The Citizen Campaign Commission came out today with recommendations for improving Portland's public campaign financing system, the program in which candidates who agree to limit their spending receive taxpayer money for their bids.

The volunteer commission recommends keeping the so-called "voter owned election" program, with a few tinks:

- Under the current system, candidates for City Council must collect $5 donations from 1,000 Portlanders, and candidates for mayor must get donations from 1,500 city residents. The committee suggests limiting contributions to Portlanders who are registered by the time the candidate turns in their signature sheets. That would allow candidates to register voters at the same time as they're trying to qualify for public money. It would also make it harder for candidates or their fundraisers to fake signatures.

- Candidates who've been taken to court for past debts should not be allowed to seek public funding if the debts weren't resolved. That would have disqualified Emilie Boyles, who owed the state of Alaska almost $25,000 in student loans when she received $145,000 in city money last year.

- The period for raising money and collecting signatures should run from July 1 to January 31, rather than Sept. 1 to March 31, giving candidates long summer days to knock on doors and seek contributions.

- The auditor should require mandatory campaign finance law training for candidates and their campaigns. Boyles, who was ordered to repay the city for improper spending, complained that she didn't understand state election law and thus was not responsible for mistakes made by her campaign.